Science Fun ~ Mysteriously Inflating Balloon Experiment

When I saw this experiment on The Artful Parent I knew that I wanted to try it with Emily and Juliette.  They both love balloons and I thought that this would be a fun way to see them getting inflated.  I made a few changes to how the experiment went based on the comments to Jean’s post.

First, I got everything ready…all I would show them was the balloon.  They were all so excited to see what would happen.  I filled the water bottle with about 3 tablespoons of vinegar and then I used a funnel to fill the balloon with about 1 tablespoon of baking soda.  I put the balloon on top of the bottle being careful not to let the baking soda mix with the vinegar. 

After each child had their balloon set up I counted to 3 and let them hold up the balloon so that the baking soda would mix with the vinegar.

Very quickly the gas that was produced when the vinegar and baking soda mixed filled up the balloon.

It was funny to see the different shapes that it made!

Juliette’s balloon got the largest out of the three.  They all wanted to try it again, but we were out of balloons.  I guess we will have to add them to our shopping list and try it again.  It was definitely a lot of fun!